Inuyasha's Dream
by Maya Beebop
Summary: When a dream of Inuyasha'a spills over into the real world, how far will he go to save it?
1. Enter Tsumai!

Inuyasha sat on the ground, pouting as usual when Kagome was right.

"You know it's only right for me to hold the shards. If YOU held them, we'd never see them again! Isn't that right, Shippou?" She laughed and tousled the fox demon's hair. He purred and stretched.

"Right Kagome!"

"Puh. Well, it's no concern to me whether or not you keep getting carted off, but if those jewel shards go with you, I have to chase." Inuyasha spat.

Kagome puffed up. "Well, if _that's_ the way you feel, then you can go _whistle_ for these!" She shook the jar in his direction, then walked off toward the lake.

"Hey!" Inuyasha got halfway up and almost reached out towards her. 

"Now see what you did!" Shippou got mad and ran off for Kagome. "Kagome!!!…"

Miroku shook his head in laughter. "He'll never learn to respect her…"

Suddenly, a wind picked up. "Great, now what?!" Inuyasha paid it only half heed. But he became quite interested…when a tornado-like formation went spiraling towards the lake!

"Kagome!" Inuyasha leapt up and ran off. Miroku was in hot pursuit behind him.

Kagome sat on the bank, fuming. "How can he say something like that! After all we've been through! And doesn't he love Kikyo? Isn't her soul inside me?!"

She suddenly felt chilly. "Shippou, do you feel that?"

She looked over her shoulder and saw the strangest of all sights. Behind her was a tremendous _purple tornado_! She gasped.

Suddenly, from behind it, Kagome thought she could see a figure clothed in red.

"Kagome! Get away from there!" Inuyasha yelled over the roar of the wind. Miroku was fighting to stand upright.

Shippou, long since scattered, was the least of her worries right now. She stood up against the push and yanks of the spiral and fought to keep standing.

Then, the roar stopped. The tornado dissipated, and in its place stood a teenage-sized figure, clothed in an identical suit to Inuyasha's, except it was a deep plum purple.

Not only did this figure have an outfit like Inuyasha's; it had ears too. But these were black, to match the furry skin of the person/animal. What resembled a skunk-person stood before Kagome, grinning its head off.

"Uh, hello…" Kagome faltered.

The person waved. "Hello!" Its ears were wiggling, and Kagome could see from in front that it had a huge, fluffy tail. Black with a white stripe, of course. The strangest thing was, it had _long, white hair! Just like Inuyasha's!_

The figure turned around to face a clumsily standing, confused and frightened Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Still up to your old tricks?" It put its hands on its hips and leaned with a silly maternal face on.

"Uh…yeah…wait a minute! Tsumai?!" Now it was Inuyasha's turn to be angry.

"Yup, it's me! And I can plainly see it's _you_, courting humans. That's just not natural, Inuyasha, and you know it."

Kagome stalked away in a huff. Miroku followed with Shippou to comfort her.

"Wait, Kagome!" Inuyasha walked towards her; then tuned back. "Now see what you did?! She's gonna hold that against me forever! And it IS perfectly natural, IF I _WAS_ courting her! Which I'm NOT! I'm half-human! You know that!"

Tsumai grinned again. "Ha! I knew you'd be hanging around another girl. You just can't stand to be away from them! First it was Kikyo, now it's this Kagome…"

"HANG AROUND?!" Inuyasha bellowed, defiant and offended. "I would NEVER!"

She giggled playfully and flew up into the air, a few feet above Inuyasha's head. Tsumai hovered and then floated upside down.

"You silly. Anyway, I was wondering if you had any of those shards lying about?"

"Tsumai, what are you doing here? I really can't talk right now…Kagome's pissing off and if I don't go talk to her, she'll tell me to 'sit'!" Inuyasha turned to go.

She appeared right in front of him on the other side. "Now, at least converse with me! I haven't seen you in ages!"

*later*

Inuyasha, Shippou, Miroku, Kagome and Tsumai were sitting inside Kaiede's house. 

"Well, Tsumai, who are thee and why do you travel here?" Kaede started.

"I actually came to-…" Tsumai was cut short as Inuyasha gasped and then leapt up. He slashed at Tsumai with his claws!

"INUYASHA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kagome screeched. But she never received a reply. Tsumai growled and then jumped up and out through the roof.

Inuyasha was trying to get out the door to catch her. He was mad with fury. Kaede grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Inuyasha, what have you done? What is wrong with thee?"

He tried to pull away. "That's not Tsumai! It's not her! You let me go, old woman! I've gotta find out what's going on!" He even slashed at Kaede to make her let him go. Running out, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou only caught a glimpse of Inuyasha as he dashed into the nearby forest after Tsumai.

"I sense all is not well with Inuyasha and Tsumai…" Miroku predicted.


	2. Explanations

Out of the darkness came a figure. Inuyasha looked into the shadows and uttered one word.

"_Tsumai_…"

Kagome, Miroku and Shippou had found the two in a shadowy glade of the woods. Inuyasha stood in the center while Tsumai floated in the air.

"Ha! Foolish Inuyasha! Thinking you could drive me off! Come to me, Tetsusaiga!" Tsumai bellowed and raised her hand. The sword at Inuyasha's side raised, then flew towards Tsumai's hand!

Kagome stared. "How can she hold the Tetsusaiga? She's a demon!"

Tsumai laughed, maniacally. "Don't you see? I am invincible! Perfect in every way!"

Miroku was doubtful. "She's nothing of the sort."

Inuyasha stared. "What do you mean?"

"I sense a demon possessing the demon. The creature is weak, yet uses the body of another to become strong. I must drive them out." Miroku explained. He began chanting and waving his staff as Inuyasha dodged the blows of the Tetsusaiga.

"Inuyasha! Ah!" Kagome and Shippou fell onto the rock from the energy blasts.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha leapt in front of the blow from the sword and staved it off with the sheath. 

"That's it! I should have it! Slice it, Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled from a ways away.

"Gladly!" Inuyasha jumped forward and ran his Iron Reaver Soul Stealer claws right through the center of Tsumai's body!

But nothing happened, save for the sound of laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Ignoramus! Your puny claws can do nothing against a ghost demon and a dream!" the thing chuckled.

"What?"

Everyone couldn't believe their ears, except Inuyasha, who bent his head in anger and shame.

"What's it talking about, Inuyasha?" Kagome was the first to ask.

He hesitated. "When Kikyo pinned me to a tree and then died, I was in denial. I gradually came to grips with the reality and I met someone."

"Wait a minute! You couldn't have! Kikyo pinned you to a tree, and fifty years later I freed you! You couldn't have met anyone while you were dead!" Kagome interjected.

"You stupid girl! When you're dead, your soul goes to a spirit world, which is an exact duplicate of the real world! Except there are _souls_ there instead of real beings. While there, I was lonely, so my mind came up with someone to keep me company. And the thing about recurring dreams and demons is that when they imagine the same thing over and over again, and want it really badly…a _demon's_ mind makes it _real_." Inuyasha told his story.

Kagome was the first to realize what this meant. "So, you're dream was Tsumai?…"

The answer was strained yet prompt. 

"Yes."


	3. The Battle

No one could move.

Miroku was the first to do something. "I thing I can bring it close enough to the surface to let you cut it!"

While everyone else was listening to Miroku, Inuyasha leapt forward and grabbed the Tetsusaiga!

"Ha! Mine now, you disgusting nightmare!" Inuyasha wielded the sword with expert fashion. 

After a few dodged attacks, Miroku called out to Inuyasha. "I've got him! Cut him down to size, Inuyasha!"

Before the dog demon could touch Tsumai and the creature, a volley of boulders flew towards them! Miroku was knocked out, and Shippou was hurt badly.

"Shippou! Miroku!" Inuyasha watched as Tsumai conjured up rocks and other heavy objects to fly towards the fighters. A particularly large one began whooshing towards them. Inuyasha couldn't stop it, even with the sheath.

"It looks like we've lost, Inuyasha…" Kagome muttered.

Suddenly, the boulder stopped in midair! It shattered to pieces and fell about them as dust.

"I suspect you could use some help, Inuyasha."

The voice startled them all. Inuyasha and Kagome whipped around to see a grown fox demon wielding a wooden stick. It was clothed in green robes and carried a leathern pack on its back. The short, white hair was close cropped, like Miroku's. Its eyes were a brilliant green. And it was grinning.

"Sesshou…"


	4. Final Blow

The word came from Tsumai.

Everyone looked at the two, Tsumai with a look of mixed surprise, shame, and anger; the fox demon called "Sesshou" wearing an expression of fierce determination, smirking at her.

"Up to no good, Tsumai?" he asked.

"You wish!" She pelted him with rocks, but he warded most of them off with his stick.

Then, Tsumai stiffened. Her body went rigid, and she slumped. Sesshou was chanting, along with Miroku. Their spells hit her at the same time, and she fell. A transparent figure was left in the air.

"Sss…how DARE you! I will NOT be taken down ssso easssily!" A weasel-demon was floating in the air.

"You're right. You'll be DEAD before you're touched!" Inuyasha leapt up to destroy it.

"NO, INUYASHA! THERE'S A-…"

But Miroku's warning came too late. Inuyasha crashed into some sort of force field that reverberated a blue glow when impact hit.

"…OUCH!" Inuyasha's voice was strained and tough, like he was declaring more of a threat than a complaint. He was lying, sprawled on the ground.

"It would be best to let me handle this. I have faced worse nameless demons before. Allow me to finish this needless battle." Sesshou stepped forward and put his fists together and began to chant. He sprinkled a few blades of grass on the dirt, then opened his hand…

"Namelesss?! I am Gonai! The Weasel of the Well of the West!" The thing darted through the air towards him, bellowing curses.

Suddenly, from Sesshou's palm, there came forth a flurry of leaves. They cut into the ghost-demon, and gashed him to pieces. A final scream echoed through the forest as the group looked on at the Shikon Jewel shard falling to earth.


	5. Tsumai's Love

Sesshou stood, breathless, as Kagome ran over to the limp Tsumai and tried to revive her.

"Tsumai! Tsumai! Shippou, go get me that rag and soak it in water. Inuyasha! What's going on?" Kagome tried her best to wake the skunk demon up, but to no avail.

Miroku was the first to speak. "I believe she was so exhausted by this possessing demon that she can't be woken up just yet. We've probably never known the real Tsumai. We've just known this 'soul' within her."

Her explanation made absolutely no sense to anyone but Inuyasha. He just grunted and turned away, his arms folded.

"Inuyasha, what's going on?" Kagome's voice was accusing.

"Well how do you expect _me_ to know?! Ask this 'Sesshou'! I bet _he'd_ know!"

Kagome, Shippou, and Miroku turned to the demon for an answer.

"I think Miroku was right. You probably never did know Tsumai. I did…but now I'm not so sure. Tsumai would never had allowed herself to be possessed by a demon of this weak type." Sesshou was doubtful.

"And…you say you knew her?" Miroku inquired.

"How?!" Inuyasha was very interested again. And beginning to look mad. "How would _you_ know her? Huh?"

Apparently, Sesshou didn't know Tsumai's history. At least, he didn't _seem_ to know…

"I and Tsumai…knew each other long ago. We were with each other. But we knew we couldn't stay that way. So, one day, we went our separate ways and haven't spoken since."

Kagome suddenly understood. _So that's why he wouldn't hurt her straight out! He…she…they loved each other, but, now they can't…_

"Why couldn't you?" she blurted out, not knowing that she had said anything. Kagome immediately blushed, but Sesshou looked even more sheepish.

"We…it's just…" He sighed and looked sad. Then he turned and walked out of the clearing, towards the lake.

"Well _that_ got us nowhere. Let's go back to the village. I don't feel like staying out here." Inuyasha leapt away.

***

That night, Kagome checked and made sure Inuyasha was nearby, Shippou was asleep, and she tucked herself in. Tsumai was in the next hut, and Sesshou had disappeared since the clearing. 

But Tsumai's bed, unknown to Kagome, was empty.

Tsumai was in the clearing.

"S-S-Sesshou…" Her voice trembled to the shadows.

He came out, a sad look on his face. 'Tsumai, we can't. I can't." He tried to stay away from her, but her legs buckled. He caught her as she fell.

Silent words transpired between them. She began to cry. Her tears mirrored his. They held hands, but stood separate.

"I'm sorry, Tsumai. I truly am. But, I cannot be with you."

"You…you said-…"

"I remember what I said. And I truly meant it…then. But now…now I can't. I am sorry." He let go, and backed away.

The night went on as Tsumai sank to her knees and cried, face in her hands.


End file.
